Rotary engine.



Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

H'. LINDENBERG.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 2o. 1911. 1,038,398.

w/mfssfs CTI "iTED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

HERMAN LINDENBERG, OF WEST I-OBKEN', NEW JERSEY.

ROTARY ENGINE.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN LINDENBERG,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of West Hoboken, countyof Hudson, andy State of New Jersey, have invented a newl and ImprovedRotary Engine, of which the 3 following is a full, clear, and exactdescriptive and an inoperative position, and means whereby said pistonwhen in an operative position is part-ly balanced by live steam or otherfluid under pressure.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and eiiicient rotaryengine which comprises comparatively few parts, which can be easilyassembled and taken apart, which can be driven by steam, compressed airor any other suitable motive fluid under pressure, in which theexpansive power of the fluid can be utilized in driving the engine, inwhich the wear of the movable parts is reduced to a minimum, in which amovable piston is employed which is pressed into operative engagementwith the stator, by the live steam, and in which the piston whenoperative, is partly balanced by the live steam itself.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotary engine in whichis employed a movable piston, that is, a piston carried by the rotor,and movable from an operative to an inoperative position, and viceversa, as the rotor revolves, and in which the action of the piston iscushioned by means of the motive fluid.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in theclaims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding` parts in both views, and in which- Figure 1 is a verticalsection of anembodiment of my invention; and Fig. 2 is a cross sectionon the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Before proceeding to a more. detailed explanation of my inventiom itshould be clearly understood that-while I have shown SpecificationofLetters Patent. Patented Sept. 10, 191,2.

Application filed July 20, l1911.

Serial No. 639,495.

the point at which the-motive fluid inlet is closed to permit theexpansion to begin, can be varied. y K

Certain of the details of construction shown for example herewith, formno part of the invention, and can be varied in accordance withindividual preference and special conditions, without deviating from theessence of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I employ a stator casingwhich is of substantially cylindrical form, and of suitable dimensions.lt comprises an annular member 10 having on the opposite sides heads orside plates l1, secured in position by means of bolts 12 or in any otherconvenient A4mannerl The heads have central hubs 13, having associatedtherewith stuffing boxes 15 which in effect are bearings for a mainshaft 16, suitable openings 17 in the heads 11 being provided for theshaft. The casing has lateral extensions 18 adapted to be supported uponthe usual framework 19, and secured in position thereon by means ofscrews or bolts 20.

Rigidly secured upon the shaft, within the stator casing, by means of akey 21 or in any other suitable manner, is a rotor 22 of circular crosssection and of less diameter than the internal diameter of the stator,so that a space for steam or other motive fluid is provided. Atdiametrically opposite points the rotor has cut away parts 23, ex-

tending elementally along it and of submounted to swing freely within arecess 28 as will be clearly seen from an inspection of Fig. 1. Thearrangement is such that in one position of the. piston it liescompletely within the periphery of the rotor, as is indicated in dottedoutline in Fig. l. In the same figure the pistons are shown in theiroperative or projected positions, in both instances the piston vanes 25extending radially beyond the periphery of the rotor and substantiallyinto engagement with the inner wall of the stator. the outer face of thevane 26 is substantially flush wit-h the surface of the rotor. pistonvanes 25 are of materially greater area than the other pisto-n vanes 26.Live steam or other motive iuid is introduced into the engine at bothsides by means of inlet conduits or pipes 29 which have threadedextremities received in correspondingly threaded openings o-f the heads11. The rotor has two arcuate passages 30 which are so positioned thateach, during a part of the rotation of the rotor comes into operativerelation with the inlet pipe so that motive fluid can enter thepassages. At one end, each of these communicates with a further passage3l which has an outlet end in one of the cut away parts 23, so that livesteam can be introduced behind the outer face of the correspondingpiston vane 25. The pressure will also be exerted against the adjacentface of the vane 26 so that each piston is partially balanced. As thevanes 25 are of greater area, however, than the vanes 26, the steam willtend to force the pistons into their projected operative positions. It

will be understood that when the pistons are inoperative, the vanes 25extend over the outlet ends of the passages 31.

Secured within the stator at diamet-rically opposite parts thereof aretwo abutments 32 of substantially triangular cross section, withoppositely inclined, concave faces 33 and 34, of elliptical curvature.They are preferably not integral with the casing, and are removablysecured in position by means of bolts 35 or in any other suitablemanner. Each abutment has through it a passage 36 communicating with anexhaust pipe 37 and serving as an escape for the eX- haustl motive fluidfrom the casing. The abutments extend inwardly to their rotor, and arepositioned closely against the same. They serve to force the pistonsinwardly into inoperative positions, as the rotor revolves, as willappear hereinafter. Each of the casing heads l1 adjacent to theabutlments 32 has partly arcuate passages 38 in which are arrangedmovable valve members 39 controlled by threaded valve stems 40,extending through suitable, threaded openings of the heads 11. Eachvalve has a manipulating head 41 by means of which it can be easilyoperated. The valve members permit the passages to be effectivelycontrolled. These passages are so arranged that at predeterminedpositions of the rotor, the

In this position The j cut away parts 23 communicate through thepassages with the space between the rotor and the casing. The purpose ofthis is to permit the pistons to swing freely. It will be understoodthat when the pistons swing outwardly, the movement will be resisted.unless the cut away parts 23 are open, because the movement of the innerpiston vane would tend to create a vacuum within the part 23.Consequently, the parts are so arranged that when each piston has passedan abutment 32 and live motive fluid begins to enter and exert itspressure at the back of the piston, the latter can swing into anoperative position freely, as at that time the cut away part 23communicates through a passage 38, with the space between the rotor andthe stator. This cut away part is partly closed when a piston comes intoengagement with an abutment, so that the movement of a piston into aninoperative position is cushioned by the exhaust fluid which is thusconfined in this space or chamber 23, and partially compressed. Theoutward movement of the piston will also be cushioned by the partialvacuum created, and the degree of this vacuum can be regulated by meansof the valve member 39 which cau be moved in or out to vary the passageopening.

The operation of the engine is simple and will be readily understood.Live Huid entering between each projected piston and the correspondingabutment will cause the rotor torevolve. At the same time the exhauststeam at the front of each piston will be escaping through acorresponding exhaust outlet. As each piston comes into engagement withan abutment it will be gradually displaced into inoperative position,until it can pass the abutment, whereupon the entering live motive fluidwill force it into its projected, operative position. Live motive fluidwill enter during a part of the revolution of the rotor, correspondingto the length of the passage 30. This passage thus performs the functionof a cut off, which can be varied by suitably altering the length of thepassage. It will be noted that the passages 38 are operativesubstantially during the entire part of each revolution during which theabutment 32 acts upon the piston. pose of controlling the movement ofthe piston, cushioning it and preventing excessive wear of the parts. Itwill be seen that as soon as the elliptical portion 33 of the abutmentbegins to force the piston into the recess 23, the latter comes intocommunication with the space between the rotor and stator through thepassage 38. The communication is maintained more over during the periodof rotation when the elliptical portion 34 of the abutment permits thcpiston to be forced out, owing to the action of the live steam back ofit, so that the piston The passage thus serves the purcan maintain itsnormal, radially projected position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent l. A rotary engine comprising a stator, a rotortherein having a recess, and a movable piston mounted in said rotor andadapted to be projected therefrom into operative position, said statorand said rotor having means for introducing motive fluid into theengine, and a controllable by-pass for intermittently connecting saidrecess and the space between said rotor and said stator, whereby theoperation of said piston can be cushioned in various degrees.

2. A rotary engine comprising a stator having a fixed abutment, a rotormounted in said stator and having arecess, a piston movably mounted insaid recess and adapted to be projected therefrom into an operativeposition, said stator and said rotor having passages for introducingmotive fluid into the engine, said stator having a passage constitutinga by-pass for intermittently connecting said rotor and the space betweensaid recess of rotor and said stator, and a valve for controlling theflow of fluid through said by-pass whereby the operation of said pistoncan be cushioned in various degrees.

3. A rotary engine comprising a stator, a rotor therein and having arecess, a piston movably mounted in said recess and adapted to beprojected therefrom into an operative position, and means forintroducing motive fluid into said recess to project said pist-on, saidstator having a controllable passage for effecting intermittentcommunication between said recess of said rotor and the space betweensaid rotor and said stator.

4. A rotary engine comprising a stator having a fixed abutment therein,a rotor within said casing and spaced inwardly from the wall thereof,said rotor having an elemental recess, said recess being open at theperiphery of said rotor, a double-vane piston mounted to swing withinsaid recess whereby one of its vanes can be 'radially projected, saidvanes of said piston being of different areas, said rotor having apassage communicating with said recess, means for introducing motivefluid into said passage, said stator having af passage forintermittently connecting said recess and the space between said rotorand said stator, said stator having an exhaust outlet, and an adjustablemember for controlling said lastmentioned passage of said stator.

1n testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN LINDENBERG. Witnesses:

JOHN K. BRASHORGEL, JOHN P. DAvis.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Gommissionerof Patents, Washington, D. C.

